Education Resource Pack Contents
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
EDUCATION RESOURCE PACK CONTENTS PAGE 4 Introduction PAGE 5 Background Information BEFORE SEEING THE SHOW PAGE 8 Lesson 1: From Screen to Stage PAGE 9 Making Muriel - PJ Hogan PAGE 10 Welcome - Producer’s Note PAGE 11 Lesson 2: Marketing a Musical AFTER SEEING THE SHOW PAGE 13 Discussion Topics and Lesson 1A: From Screen to Stage PAGE 14 Fascinating Facts PAGE 15 Lesson 3: From Kitsch to Kool - Australian Identity PAGE 16 Lesson 4: You’re Terrible Muriel – Funny, Not Funny? PAGE 17 Lesson 5: The Ugly Duckling – Success Is the Best Revenge PAGE 18 Lesson 6: Mamma Mia – Musical Fusion PAGE 20 Lesson 7: Iconography and Perfect Wedding – Setting the Scene PAGE 21 Lesson 8: Reviewing the Performance PAGE 22 APPENDIX 1: Welcome from the Director PAGE 23 APPENDIX 2: Creative Team and Cast PAGE 32 APPENDIX 3: The Music PAGE 37 APPENDIX 4: Designer’s Note and Costume Designs PAGE 39 APPENDIX 5: Marketing Collateral – Film and Musical PAGE 40 APPENDIX 6: Reviews PAGE 44 APPENDIX 7: Additional Resources ‘You’re Terrible Muriel...’ © Muriel’s Wedding The Musical. Copyright for this resource remains the property of Global Creatures Pty Ltd. Permission to reproduce parts or this entire guide is granted to educational and training institutions for exclusive use in classroom learning exercises only MURIEL’S WEDDING THE MUSICAL - Education Resource Pack 2 MURIEL’S WEDDING THE MUSICAL - Education Resource Pack 3 Dear Teacher, Welcome to the Education Resource Pack for the World Premiere Tour of the Australian theatrical production – Muriel’s Wedding The Musical. This education program is designed for students aged 16 years and over to coincide with the rating of the film when it was released in 1994 and suggested age group for attendance to the stage musical. This production includes strong language, sexual references and adult themes, including suicide and parental discretion is advised. Details of additional support services are available in Appendix Seven of this resource. This resource includes discussion points, eight lesson plans – two for you to give before seeing the show with the remainder to take place afterwards. These later projects concentrate on social issues and themes in the story as well as elements of the live production, including characterisation, music and staging which lead to students writing their own personal review of the show. In addition, using the themes within the story students are provided with an opportunity to identify, discuss and then form their own strategy to build self-esteem, deal with the challenges posed navigating social media, combat bullying and promote increased acceptance in line with current education departmental guidelines. Each activity is based around the challenges faced taking an existing story from the screen and to the stage while maintaining the existing plot, characters and their unique circumstances, ensuring relevance of a story originally told in 1994. Combined with a visit to the show these lessons will give your students an insight in the production of the musical and journey of Muriel and Rhonda as they navigate their individual and mutual challenges. This resource pack has been created for use in the classroom and is designed to facilitate discussion and the gaining of knowledge surrounding the complex elements which when combined result in this production. We hope your students enjoy their journey with Muriel’s Wedding The Musical. MURIEL’S WEDDING THE MUSICAL - Education Resource Pack 4 BEFORE SEEING THE SHOW BACKGROUND INFORMATION - ‘YOU’RE TERRIBLE MURIEL’ ‘Astonishing…A triumphant blaze of colour and emotion’ THE AGE ‘A star is born in this clever adaptation of a beloved Australian film.’ LIMELIGHT Muriel’s Wedding The Musical premiered at The Roslyn Packer Theatre in Sydney on 18 November, 2017. Muriel’s Wedding The Musical is the inspiring story of Muriel Heslop, a young social outcast steals money from her parents to fund a trip where she hopes to find happiness and perhaps love. While on her own challenging, often confronting journey of self-doubt after spending her life trying to fit in, she ultimately realising true happiness comes from an unconditional strong female bond and friendship and just being herself. This courageous and timeless tale originated as PJ Hogan’s award-winning feature film in 1994, gaining international acclaim, launching the careers of Toni Collette and Rachel Griffiths and depicting a universal story which remains just a relevant today. In a new all-singing, all-dancing theatrical production, Muriel’s Wedding The Musical brings this true to life story, featuring the beloved ABBA music from the original film, cleverly blended with new compositions from Australian songwriters Kate Miller-Heidke and Keir Nuttall. Winner of five Helpmann Awards, seven Sydney Theatre Awards, an Awgie Award, the 2018 David Williamson Prize and an ARIA Award Nomination, Muriel’s Wedding The Musical. MURIEL’S WEDDING THE MUSICAL - Education Resource Pack 5 FROM STAGE TO SCREEN TO STAGE – TURNING MURIEL’S WEDDING INTO A MUSICAL Originally premiering at the Cannes Film Festival in 1994, Muriel’s Wedding was a box office hit around the world, and has left a lasting legacy not only in Australia, but internationally as well. Muriel’s Wedding was a career breakthrough for writer and director PJ Hogan. “At the time, I felt it was really my last shot at getting to make a feature film,” PJ recalls. “I was getting close to 30 and I thought, ‘maybe it’s not meant to be’. People I had gone to film school with had established careers, and had some success. And here I was, yet to make my breakthrough film.” After years of striving in the industry, PJ followed the age-old advice to ‘write what you know’ when it came to Muriel’s Wedding. “I don’t think I found my voice as a filmmaker at all until I made that film. I wrote something that I knew a lot about, which was feeling like a failure. So I sat down and I wrote what I knew… On a scale of 1-10 of crazy, I came from a family that was about an 8. So, I wrote about them. I wrote my story, my sister’s story and my family’s story. And that was the film we made.” PJ grew up in the small coastal city of Tweed Heads – the real-life inspiration for his fictional town of Porpoise Spit. “The scenes in Porpoise Spit were shot in my home town, Tweed Heads, on the Gold Coast. I was a little worried that my Dad might recognise himself as a character (Muriel’s father, Bill ‘The Battler’ Heslop). And filming in his home town would be a dead giveaway. But it was the only town that looked right in the frame. I also thought, it has to be Tweed Heads because Tweed Heads was the inspiration for the story.” The film ended up becoming a smash hit, grossing US$57 million worldwide (the equivalent of about AU$117 million today) – no mean feat, considering the comparatively low production budget. The film was a celebration of Australian vernacular. It also landed at a particular time for Australian cinema, sitting alongside the likes of Strictly Ballroom and Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. All three movies put Australian filmmaking in the international spotlight – and the world loved it. The film’s success also launched the careers of its leading actors, Toni Collette and Rachel Griffiths, who played Muriel and Rhonda. As Rachel Griffiths recalls, “I went from complete anonymity to somewhat fame and really being part of a juggernaut that people had such passion and feeling about, which is different from just becoming famous. It was a particularly unique experience, where your fame is built on something which is so adored and important to people.” Toni Collette was nominated for a Golden Globe for her breakthrough performance as Muriel. As she recently told ABC’s 7.30, “It’s a wonderful compliment that the film is still relevant. It gave me a life I could never have imagined. I did it because I loved it and I was lucky to get the job at the time, but I could never even contemplate that there would be an audience.” Along with the performances, the film is also remembered for its iconic soundtrack. To get ABBA’s approval to use their music, the film’s producer sent the script to the band’s assistant who loved it and encouraged them to continue asking. “I would send them a letter once a week. And I was shameless. I compared them to The Beatles. I think I called them good looking,” PJ recalls. Eventually, PJ threatened to travel to Sweden and beg them in person. They finally agreed that PJ could use their songs in the movie. Two decades later, the Australian-based production company, Global Creatures, approached PJ about turning his iconic film into a musical. Global Creatures’ CEO Carmen Pavlovic has been instrumental in bringing the likes of Moulin Rouge! The Musical, Strictly Ballroom and King Kong to life on stage. Carmen was in a bookshop when inspiration struck for Muriel’s Wedding. “I often wander around bookshops in order to get some perspective and think about new projects. I was in Borders when I stumbled across a book about Muriel’s Wedding on the shelves and the penny dropped,” she recalls. “I wondered why this film hadn’t previously been made into a musical.” Carmen got in touch with PJ and pitched the idea. Funnily, it turned out that he was already in conversations with Simon Phillips about directing Muriel’s Wedding as a stage musical. “I adore Simon and think he’s super smart and super funny.